## Summary
Observers that stop actively sending data now get removed after a
configurable retention period (default 14 days).
Previously, observers remained in the `observers` table forever. This
meant nodes that were once observers for an instance but are no longer
connected (even if still active in the mesh elsewhere) would continue
appearing in the observer list indefinitely.
## Key Design Decisions
- **Active data requirement**: `last_seen` is only updated when the
observer itself sends packets (via `stmtUpdateObserverLastSeen`). Being
seen by another node does NOT update this field. So an observer must
actively send data to stay listed.
- **Default: 14 days** — observers not seen in 14 days are removed
- **`-1` = keep forever** — for users who want observers to never be
removed
- **`0` = use default (14 days)** — same as not setting the field
- **Runs on startup + daily ticker** — staggered 3 minutes after metrics
prune to avoid DB contention
## Changes
| File | Change |
|------|--------|
| `cmd/ingestor/config.go` | Add `ObserverDays` to `RetentionConfig`,
add `ObserverDaysOrDefault()` |
| `cmd/ingestor/db.go` | Add `RemoveStaleObservers()` — deletes
observers with `last_seen` before cutoff |
| `cmd/ingestor/main.go` | Wire up startup + daily ticker for observer
retention |
| `cmd/server/config.go` | Add `ObserverDays` to `RetentionConfig`, add
`ObserverDaysOrDefault()` |
| `cmd/server/db.go` | Add `RemoveStaleObservers()` (server-side, uses
read-write connection) |
| `cmd/server/main.go` | Wire up startup + daily ticker, shutdown
cleanup |
| `cmd/server/routes.go` | Admin prune API now also removes stale
observers |
| `config.example.json` | Add `observerDays: 14` with documentation |
| `cmd/ingestor/coverage_boost_test.go` | 4 tests: basic removal, empty
store, keep forever (-1), default (0→14) |
| `cmd/server/config_test.go` | 4 tests: `ObserverDaysOrDefault` edge
cases |
## Config Example
```json
{
"retention": {
"nodeDays": 7,
"observerDays": 14,
"packetDays": 30,
"_comment": "observerDays: -1 = keep forever, 0 = use default (14)"
}
}
```
## Admin API
The `/api/admin/prune` endpoint now also removes stale observers (using
`observerDays` from config) and reports `observers_removed` in the
response alongside `packets_deleted`.
## Test Plan
- [x] `TestRemoveStaleObservers` — old observer removed, recent observer
kept
- [x] `TestRemoveStaleObserversNone` — empty store, no errors
- [x] `TestRemoveStaleObserversKeepForever` — `-1` keeps even year-old
observers
- [x] `TestRemoveStaleObserversDefault` — `0` defaults to 14 days
- [x] `TestObserverDaysOrDefault` (ingestor) —
nil/zero/positive/keep-forever
- [x] `TestObserverDaysOrDefault` (server) —
nil/zero/positive/keep-forever
- [x] Both binaries compile cleanly (`go build`)
- [ ] Manual: verify observer count decreases after retention period on
a live instance
Change healthThresholds config from milliseconds to hours for readability.
Config keys: infraDegradedHours, infraSilentHours, nodeDegradedHours, nodeSilentHours.
Defaults: infra degraded 24h, silent 72h; node degraded 1h, silent 24h.
- Config stored in hours, converted to ms at comparison time
- /api/config/client sends ms to frontend (backward compatible)
- Frontend tooltips use dynamic thresholds instead of hardcoded strings
- Added healthThresholds section to config.example.json
- Updated Go and Node.js servers, tests
Joel Claw